Various types of case packers have been previously known. The general type of interest is that in which an oncoming line of containers approaches a packing head while empty cases approach a case lift below the head. When the grid of the case packing head contains a full complement of containers, the case is lifted to a point immediately beneath the head, skid blades in the head are shifted, and the containers drop through a plurality of fingers into appropriate pockets or locations in the case below. The filled case is then lowered on the case lift and replaced with an empty case and the process repeats. Typically, the containers comprise bottles and the cartons or cases are partitioned into compartments or pockets for receiving the bottles.
The concept of the prior art works fine with bottles or containers which are of a generally round configuration in cross section. This is true because round bottles pass through the generally square passages of the picking head allowing for ample clearance at the corners of the passages such that the bottles or containers do not hang-up on top edges of the fingers. However, the passing of square or rectangular containers or boxes through such passages often results in the containers being caught by the top edge of cross fingers suspended beneath the grid, jamming the operation of the head and inhibiting operation of the packing line.
A particular problem has been experienced where boxes having a square or rectangular cross section are to be passed through passages having a corresponding cross section in the packing head grid and then into corresponding pockets in a case or carton. While containers typically clear the top edges of the longitudinal fingers attached and parallel to the lane dividers of the grid, they have a tendency to contact the top edges of the cross fingers which are connected and extend normal to the lane dividers of the grid. Such contact prevents the containers from passing through the fingers and into the case below, resulting in the jamming discussed above.